Dozens of masked Hamas fighters took over Gaza City's central square on Saturday and declared they would not stop attacks on Israel, despite its pullout from the Gaza Strip.

"This retreat does not mean the end of our battle, but it is the beginning," said a spokesman for Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas military wing, who identified himself as Abu Obaideh. "Our battle with the (Israeli) enemy is long and will continue," Abu Obaideh said, according to The AP.

"The arms of the resistance are legitimate and honourable weapons of the Palestinian people," the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said Saturday. "They are the sole guarantee of defeating the occupation and the safeguard against its aggressions against Palestinians. "We will maintain and develop our armaments because the resistance of the enemy is long."